Akhaia
Collective term for the people or groups of peoples inhabiting western coastal Anatolia, the islands of Archipelagos, and eastern Pelasgios. Also, the name for the sprawling territory they control. Deliberately vague in composition, membership, and authority, Akhaia was never a formal league or alliance comparable to those of Ashuwa or Arzawa, though the central concept was similar. Organized by powerful Pelasgian cities like Thebai and monopolizing trade routes originally established by Kursatta, Akhaia represented an an early and concerted attempt to emulate the geographic and economic dominance of empires like Hatti and Khemia. With its dominance of Anatolia, Hatti controlled virtually all imports of eastern tin and therefore bronze production, plus amber and other far-northern goods only available by passage through the Dardanelles. Akhaia’s origin is directly tied to Thebai, which unofficially allied with lesser kingdoms to present a united trade coalition against Hatti. Thus, in its earliest form, Akhaia proved instrumental in the conquest of Kursatta and its many island colonies. As it acquired success and grew in power, Akhaia pushed its holdings to the Anataolian coast, where Thebai came to dominate Millawanda while Mukanai controlled Apasa. Differences between those two “powers” led to inconsistent application of policy in the region, such that where Millawanda remained content with mere access to Hatti trade resources, Apasa wished to overthrow and seize control. Toward this end, Akhaia staged two failed attempts to wrest control of the coast from Hatti. The first, poorly organized and lacking clear purpose, led Hatti to suppress the so-called Assuwa League. The second, orchestrated by Tantalos in Arzawa and Pandareos in Apasa, brought about the Arzawaean War. While virtually all of the influence established by Mukanai was lost at the end of this conflict, Millawanda successfully maintained its Akhaian presence by open alliance with Hatti, including the marriage of war-captive Niobë to Thebai’s king Amphion. Taking this as betrayal, Mukanai thereafter undertook a long-term campaign to humiliate Thebai and gain control of Akhaia. Toward this end, Pertheos redoubled his efforts to dominate Pelasgios, only to be thwarted by Thebai’s promotion of Pelops in the west. Ultimately however, internal scandal and rampant corruption brought Thebai down from within, leaving eastern Pertheids and western Pelopids to struggle for control of Akhaia. This contest lasted well into the life of Alkaios Alkeides, whose unwavering support of Argolis crippled Pelopid interests, leaving Mukanai to guide Akhaia in the manner of its choosing. Akhaia next sought to increase its wealth and military might by allying with Hatti’s enemies within Anatolia itself. Toward this end, Iason determined there was no need to conquer Hatti directly when its vulnerable peripheries would prove equally lucrative. He therefore re-directed Akhaian thinking from direct confrontation of empire to conquest of its most valuable and least protected frontier, Troas. Several bouts of additional in-fightning prevent the launch of Iason’s campaign however. Without exception, the greatest of these distractions was Alkaios Alkeides himself. Following his conquest of Ilion and a great westward voyage that revealed new sources for tin, all of the original complaints had been addressed. In truth, there was no legitimate reason for Akhaia’s continued existence at this stage, though Mukanai had no intention of giving up its hard-won prominence. Under leadership of Agamedmon, Mukanai continued its program of domination over Akhaia. Making use of well-established trade and political connections as well as open warfare, Agamedmon finally succeeded in making Mukanai undisputed master of Akhaia and proclaimed himself wanaks. With the entire Peloponessos, much of Aeolia, Kursatta, and nearly all southern Archipelagos under his thumb, Agamedmon next turned his attention on the north, launching attacks on Lesbos, Laminë, and Thraikë, all in anticipation of conquering Ilion and seizing control of the strait. Following Alkaios Alkeides’ conquest however, Ilion easily returned to and far exceeded its former glory. He hadn’t destroyed the city after all, only deposed and executed Laomedon and his elder heirs, leaving young Podarkes to succeed his father in time. Kapys therefore became regent-ruler of Ilion while his nephew withdrew to Hattusha. Under Kapys’ mild-patient rule, not only was Ilion restored but the whole of Troas unified such that, by the time Podarkes returned as Priamos and assumed his place as wanaks, a wholly Troianes society greeted his arrival. Like Agamedmon himself, Priam then turned his attention outward, gathering allies and defeating enemies to hold Hatti’s northlands against Akhaia. Though it seems certain Akhaia and Troas would come to blows eventually, this outcome was hastened both by Agamedmon’s open assault on the Kabieroi of Laminë and Thraikë, compounded by Hektor’s recovery of Helë and the Ilion hoard. Priam felt obliged to engage the invaders plaguing his island allies, while Agamedmon exploited his brother’s claims of theft to gather Akhaia en masse. While the war that followed certainly brought doom to Ilion and the Ilidai, it also marked the beginning of the end for Akhaia itself. With every chieftain and other leader of note committed to warfare on foreign soil, Aeloia and the Peloponessos lay vulnerable to countless enemies. From rebellious islands to new waves of invasion sweeping down from the north, Akhaia’s central homelands were further undermined by the women like Hesionë, Penelopë, and Klytemnestra, each of whom sought to destroy their husbands’ rules, though for vastly different reasons. While a partial collapse of Akhaian authority occurred during the course of the war, that fall was ultimately completed with the open assassination of Agamedmon and sack of Mukanai. This, coupled with Aineias’ rise to power as the new wanaks of Troas and launching raids of allied Sea Peoples, completed Akhaia’s fall.